Page 155 of Blood Mosaic

Oksana leaned to the side and looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Oleg killed Luana. It’s not a secret. No one told you?”

Tatyana didn’t know why the news was so shocking except…

Except.

“Did it hurt you physically when Luana died?”

“It was excruciating.”

She stood, a skittering anxiety shivering over her body. “Where is Oleg right now?”

“In his office, I think.” Oksana’s eyebrows went up. “I’m sorry if I shocked you, but like I said, it’s not a secret. It was a very public execution.”

Chapter Forty-Three

Oleg stared at the black chest containing approximately ten million in gold bars.

It was always satisfying to see gold in person. He had millions in numbers on screens, but that meant very little to him. It made the humans who worked for him happy, but at the end of the day, he much preferred to see his wealth in gold.

What the chest contained was a fraction of the gold Oleg owed Zara. He’d only shipped two chests from Odesa, but this one had something much more important than gold.

This one held Luana’s jewelry, and that was what Zara truly wanted.

The fine mahogany chest that lay on top of the gold bars was the real prize. The diamonds and emeralds alone were triple the value of the gold, and that wasn’t counting the finished pieces of jewelry, which were impossible to value.

Oleg had spent centuries collecting wealth, and when Luana became his mate, he showered her with gifts, partly to charm his mate and partly to let the broader vampire world know the power and wealth he could bestow on those who pleased him.

To his disappointment, she rarely wore the jewelry he gave her, choosing rather to hide it away in her personal cache.

Oleg heard Tatyana’s footsteps racing down the hallway and flipped the top of the chest closed. There was no need for her to see Zara’s treasure until it was time.

Tatyana knocked, but she didn’t wait for permission to enter.

He’d have to deal with that when she didn’t appear to be so rattled.

“What is it?”

She’d been working with Oksana in the ballroom, and he could see her amnis sparking. The water in the air drew to her skin, and though her face was pale, her lips were flushed. He wanted to snatch her from everyone’s view and strip her naked, but she was clearly upset about something, so he sat calmly.

She couldn’t seem to speak.

“Tatyana,” he said calmly. “Why are you upset?”

“You killed Luana.”

Oleg froze. Of all the things he’d been expecting her to say, that was not it. “I see Oksana has been chatting.”

“She said it wasn’t a secret.”

“It’s not.” He saw them in his mind, the bright red tesserae adorning the walls of his day chamber in the citadel.

Sire.

Lover.

Mate.

Brothers.

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